Webinar
Green D Venture Fund Launch
Join Laura Rippy, Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures, alongside Senior Partner Darrin Wizst, Senior Principal Luca Giani, Senior Associate Charlotte Jenkins, and Drew Wandzilak, Managing Partner of the U.S. Strategic Tech Fund, for a final opportunity to learn about Green D Ventures before it closes — and a clear-eyed look at how Dartmouth-connected venture is constructed, what the portfolio looks like today, and how accredited investors can participate before the window shuts.
In this session, the Green D Ventures team will walk through the fund’s investment thesis, how it leverages Alumni Ventures’ connection to the Dartmouth alumni ecosystem to source and back exceptional founders, and where the portfolio is heading next. The team will share recent portfolio activity, the diligence frameworks behind investment decisions, and what makes the Dartmouth network a durable source of venture-quality companies — including how themes across U.S. Strategic Tech and other categories the team is most active in are shaping current deployment.
With Green D Ventures approaching its final close, this is one of the last opportunities to evaluate the fund directly with the team leading it. Whether you’re a Dartmouth alum, an accredited investor evaluating university-connected venture for the first time, or already familiar with Alumni Ventures, this session will give you a clear, current view of the fund’s thesis, portfolio, and path forward. Register to bring your questions to the team — and decide whether Green D Ventures belongs in your venture allocation before the close.
Want to access our Green D Ventures startup deals to see, evaluate, and optionally invest? No cost, no commitment.
Why Attend?
- HomeDiscover how Green D Ventures translates privileged access to the Dartmouth alumni ecosystem into a differentiated venture portfolio
- HomeUnderstand the team's investment thesis, recent portfolio activity, and where conviction is sharpening today across categories like U.S. Strategic Tech
- HomeGet your final questions answered before Green D Ventures closes — and decide whether the fund belongs in your venture allocation
Rated a Top 20 VC Firm by both TIME and CB Insights.
Alumni Ventures is America’s largest venture capital firm for individual investors.
About your presenters
Senior Principal
Luca Giani is a Senior Principal, investor, and serial entrepreneur with a track record across venture creation, M&A, and translational science. He specializes in bridging science, strategy, capital, and talent to help build mission-driven ventures.
Luca was the Founder & CEO of Ilios Therapeutics, a neuroscience company developing a novel chemistry platform to address ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease. Under his leadership, Ilios built a diversified preclinical pipeline, advanced lead optimization, filed foundational IP, and positioned the company for strategic partnerships.
Luca is a Termeer Fellow, part of a global network of emerging biotech CEOs mentored by industry leaders. He previously served as a Blavatnik Fellow in Life Science Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, and as a Technology and Public Purpose Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center, appointed by and working with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, where he authored policy work on accelerating treatments for neurodegenerative diseases under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Langer.
Earlier in his career, Luca co-founded Innbiotec Pharma; led international investments in MedTech and digital health at 5Lion Ventures; and co-founded and commercialized Somnifix, a patented sleep apnea and snoring therapy. He began his career in M&A at Credit Suisse, followed by strategy consulting at Bain & Company in London, advising clients on market expansion, transformation, and operational optimization.
Luca holds a Master with Distinction from Harvard, has completed programs at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School, and MIT Sloan, and earned his B.S. magna cum laude from Georgetown University.
Overview:
Laura Rippy is a Managing Partner and Board Member at Alumni Ventures. She runs the Harvard-focused fund (The Yard Ventures), the Dartmouth-focused fund (Green D Ventures), the Women’s Fund at Alumni Ventures, and helps our US Strategic Tech fund. Alumni Ventures is “America’s Largest Venture Firm for Individuals” with $1.5B raised, and 1500 portfolio companies. AV is one of the top 3 most active venture capital firms globally, per Pitchbook 2018-24.
Previously, Laura was a serial CEO, Chairman, Board Member, Advisor, and Executive in high-technology companies including Microsoft. Business Insider ranked Laura in the Best Early Stage Investors of 2024 and 2025.
Laura Rippy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in Government from Dartmouth College.
Funds Actively Worked On:
- Yard Ventures
- Green D Ventures
- Women’s Fund
- US Strategic Tech Fund
Investment Lens:
Laura’s investing areas at AV leverage her operating experience in consumer internet, enterprise software, and novel technology innovations. She is inspired by founders aiming to build “N of 1” companies, ideally with IP or other moats. Business Insider ranked Rippy in the Top 100 Early Stage Investors of 2024 and 2025, and #1 in the Top Female Seed Investors of 2025.
Senior Partner
Darrin is an investment professional with an extensive background in financial services and B2B. Throughout his 25 year career, he has worked with individual investors, investment advisors and their clients, and institutional (foundations and endowments) clients, with various investment vehicles including mutual funds, separately managed accounts, socially responsible portfolios, and alternative investments. He earned a BA in Economics & Public Management from UMaine and an MBA from Boston College.
Drew has worked in high-growth industries as both an investor and operator, focusing on how people and technology interact within organizations. As a long-time investor with Alumni Ventures, he has worked across multiple funds and internal initiatives. He has worked on National and State level political campaigns, focusing on Small Business and Entrepreneurial policy. Drew holds a BS from Northwestern University in Education and Social Policy, specializing in Learning & Organizational Development. He also served as an Ambassador for Northwestern’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and was recognized in Chicago Inno’s 25 under 25.
Charlotte brings a founder-aligned, execution-first mindset to venture investing. At Alumni Ventures, she leverages her background as an operator to back early-stage teams building the next wave of intelligent software. She thrives in the earliest stages—where velocity matters, ambiguity is high, and momentum is earned through tight feedback loops and rapid learning.
Before joining AV, Charlotte helped build and scale startups across AI and consumer sectors. At a pre-seed AI-native company, she helped shape core strategy and operations from the ground up. At a food-tech venture, she led market expansion and launched a new business line during a high-stakes COVID pivot. These experiences shaped her belief in the power of clarity, grit, and structured iteration—the traits she now looks for and supports in founders.
Charlotte is particularly drawn to technologies that simplify complexity and empower users to act with greater intention. She seeks out products that are both behaviorally resonant and operationally sharp—and partners best with founders who value speed, depth, and grounded insight.
Fund Actively Worked On:
- Green D Ventures
- Women’s Fund
Investment Areas of Focus:
Charlotte focuses on Intent-to-Action Infrastructure—software that bridges the gap between user intent and real-world execution. Her thesis centers on Agentic AI: systems that plan, coordinate, and act on behalf of users across fragmented tools, routines, and workflows. She believes this will be the next major layer of the AI stack, transforming both enterprise operations and everyday consumer behavior.
She is particularly drawn to categories with high friction, frequent use, and low-stakes decision-making—contexts where agentic systems can build trust, drive adoption, and generate durable behavioral moats. Her work spans business software, commerce, and life infrastructure, with an eye toward AI-native platforms that prioritize outcomes over interfaces.